The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is building South Africa’s first own developed gunshot detection system.

A gunshot detection system aims to provide quick and accurate confirmation of shooting incidents to law enforcement agencies.

CSIR Materials Science and Manufacturing (MSM) sensor science and technology electronic engineer Elna Niemann says the system detects an impulse noise, and then determines whether it was a gunshot, or rather a vehicle accident or a window breaking, for example.

The system analyses and identifies the sound, determining range, caliber and direction – for example, a .38 fired 50 m away at a specific set of GPS coordinates.

While the system can sift through noise clutter such as traffic, rain and wind tend to have a negative effect.

The CSIR’s gunshot detection prototype is currently still quite bulky. It is vehicle mounted, and around 1.5 m by 1.4 m in size.

The MSM team is, however, in the process of downsizing, or miniaturising, the system, in order to make it more user friendly and commercially viable, says ultrasonics and sonar research group leader Nic Nicolaides.

“We would like to move down to 0.5 m by 0.5 m.”

The CSIR would also like to see the system powered by solar panels.

The system’s functionality can also be improved by fitting it to traffic or street lights.

“The system should help law enforcement agencies make more informed decisions,” explains Nicolaides.

It could also avoid the loss of life by providing advanced warning on the firepower at any crime scene.

The private security, nature conservation, energy and military markets could also benefit from the system, notes Niemann.

It is possible to use the system to determine the direction of a mortar attack, or a rhino poaching event.

“Sniper attacks are, for example, one of the problems the South African army has to deal with during its many peacekeeping missions,” says Nicolaides.

Eskom has expressed interest in the system owing to the specific noise made by faulty power lines.

While there are already a number of gunshot detection systems on the market – the Western Cape already uses an imported system, for example – CSIR MSM ultrasonics engineer Josiah Jideani says the aim is for a South African system to be less than half the price of a system imported from abroad.

The gunshot detection system consists of a microphone array, controller and user-interface.

While these are all off-the-shelf items, what makes each system unique is its algorithm – or the brain behind the system, says Nicolaides.

“This intellectual property behind the system is the most costly element.”

Nicolaides and his team aim to have a smaller-sized system ready by the end of March next year.

“Then we would like to commercialise the technology or sell the licence for commercialisation purposes.”